Guidance Counselling at Hillcrest High School
Hillcrest High has a whole school approach to student wellbeing, so every student and adult has a responsibility to care for each other.
Mary-Ellen McGarry, Hannah Bryant, Eugene Davis and Natasha Rao work professionally and ethically under the NZAC Code of Ethics. The team works closely with other staff. Our aim is to support students to achieve their personal best academically, emotionally and socially. Counsellors advocate for those who are dis-empowered. They also offer mediation and restorative meetings.
The counsellors have strong links with agencies in our wider community and are able to guide students and whanau to them if specialist expertise is appropriate.
Why see a Counsellor?
There are always times in your life when things happen and you are not sure what to do. At times like this it can help to talk to someone else. As counsellors we are trained to support you to explore any issue or concern to find new ideas or ways of coping to develop resilience and empowerment.
In counselling you can talk in a safe non-judgmental place with someone who supports you. A counsellor is someone who listens carefully and assists you to explore and think about things differently to help discover new perspectives, ideas and choices. Even if you are not sure how, or where to start talking we are trained to help with that.
It can help you:
Think about things in a different way
Do things differently
Reduce stress
Set goals and plans
Get to know yourself better
Improve relationships
Link in with other agencies to support you
Build a sense of resilience and self-identity.
How to book an appointment
To make an appointment you can email the counsellors or talk to a teacher or dean about seeing the counsellor.
Apart from an emergency, it is important to book an appointment time rather than just turn up. This way you do not interrupt other people’s time or get sent back to class.
Ms McGarry mmcgarry@hillcrest-high.school.nz
Mrs Bryant hbryant@hillcrest-high.school.nz
Mr Davis edavis@hillcrest-high.school.nz
Mrs Rao nrao@hillcrest-high.school.nz